To Be Strong
by Xeria
Summary: Added the second part to this "All That Shimmers" prequel. This time, a POV from Makai.
1. Teresa

To Be Strong - Teresa  
  
It's like a disease, the love of the people. It's infectious and digs under your skin and makes you itch. It makes you act. But, I'm not a person of action. I'm a thinker, an intellectual. I'd rather ponder over the problem and wait for one of my attendants to take care of it than do it myself. People like Shin take action. I don't.  
  
Shin... He left shortly after the Unification War. To train, or so he said. It's been a while, now, and no one's heard a word about him. If it wasn't for the stress of Jowston politics, I think I'd die from the worry. Worry that something might have happened to him. Sometimes I long to set out for the Grasslands and find him myself, but she won't let me. Emilia. My closest friend and confidant. She's an intellectual, just as I am. Only, she's capable of taking action when she needs to.  
  
Yesterday was the start of something big. I could feel it as soon as that blonde boy meekly entered the sanctity of my office and handed me a note before scurrying away. Probably was overwhelmed by the very notion of being in my presence. I never understood people who got overcome with emotion like that, but anyway. I scanned it briefly, as I had paperwork to attend to, and picked up the few key bits of information before tossing it aside. Apparently, a small group from the south had attacked a border village. Fitcher wanted all the Jowston leaders in Muse the next day for yet another meeting. I truly hate these meetings; they all eventually end in needless bickering and feuding between cities.   
  
So, I pulled out several sheets of paper and commenced writing notes for all my attendants, explaining where and why I needed to go. Emilia, caring soul that she was, would probably insist on coming with me. However, something didn't feel quite right about this meeting. It's one of those things, a premonition I suppose, where you feel something in the back of your mind that insists something is out of place or amiss. Greenhill would always be first on my list of important things, and I wasn't about to let anything or anyone from it, including Emilia, be placed in any sort of danger.  
  
Just as I had suspected, soon after the messenger departed, Emilia poked her head in my door, glasses sliding halfway down her nose and brown eyes full of curiousity. I explained the situation to her and handed her the message so she could peruse it as well. Again, just as I had suspected, she immediately insisted on traveling to Muse by my side, her duty as one of my attendants and friends. I, in turn, informed her that I would be going alone, save for the coach driver. Anything to keep her and the rest of Greenhill safe.  
  
So here I am, the next morning, in a carriage on the road to Muse. I've arranged to stop in Two River City, where Makai will join me and we shall travel together. Some have called him weak-willed or a coward, but I have seen him stand up and fight for Two River in the past, and I consider him a friend. One of the few I have outside Greenhill.   
  
I hope this meeting won't last more than a few days. Greenhill needs me, and I do more harm than good to my citizens by staying away from the city for long periods of time. I have to be strong for them, now more than ever. If these aggressors are as vicious as Fitcher stated in his notice, then we'll need all the strength we have. I can't rely on Shin or Emilia anymore. For the love of the people, festering in the city that I cherish above all things, I will be strong. 


	2. Makai

To Be Strong - Makai  
  
It's like a disease, the love of the people. It's infectious and it digs under your skin and makes you itch. It makes you act. Or, at least it would if I had the love of the people. They expect me to be fearless, like Ridley. Or benevolent, like Teresa. Or even commanding, like Gustav. But, I'm none of these, at least to them. To them, I'm a weak-willed coward.  
  
I thought I could make them love me by giving them freedom. Freedom to do whatever they wished without fear of interference from the high councils. However, this led to theft and other crimes, mostly perpetrated by the wingers. So, the people demanded action and the councils acted. They passed laws and I dutifully enforced them; but, they still weren't satisfied. I was now encroaching on their freedom, the very freedom I had previously given them before they asked for stricter laws. I couldn't win. I can never win. Ridley has the love of his people; I have nothing.  
  
Yesterday, something vital to the well-being of Jowston was brought to my attention. Chaco, the precocious little winger, crashed through one of my windows, a note held in his grubbly hand. He dashed it to the floor, grinned, and then departed much as he had arrived before I could inquire as to who the message was from. I reached down and lifted it from the ground, opening and perusing it quickly. Fitcher had called a Jowston Hill meeting. An unidentified enemy had attacked a border village, and, by all accounts, seemed intent on pushing further into our land. The city-state was--is in dire trouble.  
  
It was expected by all the mayors that, though Highland might be under our control, a new force would rise and challenge us. We had our moment of glory; it was now someone else's turn in the spotlight. We would not knuckle under so easily, however. We never have.  
  
So, I sit here now, waiting for Teresa to arrive. She send notice earlier that she would stop in Two River so that we may travel together to Muse. I look forward to the trip. Teresa is one of the most intelligent and well-spoken mayors any city of Jowston has ever had. She truly is worthy of all the respect she is given.  
  
I hope this meeting won't last more than a few days. Two River needs me, though it might not believe as such, and I do more harm than good to my citizens by staying away from the city for long periods of time. I have to be strong for them, now more than ever. If these aggressors are as vicious as Fitcher stated in his notice, then we'll need all the strength we have. I can't give in to the pressure from the councils, and I can't rely on them to take action any longer. For the love of the people, festering in the city that I cherish above all things, I will be strong. 


End file.
